Imaging device

• US 9,906,766 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2014
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Teruki, Kojima, Takahide, Obata, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dang, Philip
• Application Number:
  US14/414,530
• Publication Number:
  US 20150172618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/106 using night vision cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2209/047 using multispectral pick-up elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/843 Demosaicing, e.g. interpolating colour pixel values
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/133 including elements passing panchromatic light, e.g. filters passing white light
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/135 based on four or more different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/646 for image enhancement, e.g. vertical detail restoration, cross-colour elimination, contour correction, chrominance trapping filters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/68 for controlling the amplitude of colour signals, e.g. automatic chroma control circuits H04N9/71, H04N9/73 take precedence; camera processing pipelines for controlling the colour saturation of colour signals H04N23/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/77 Circuits for processing the brightness signal and the chrominance signal relative to each other, e.g. adjusting the phase of the brightness signal relative to the colour signal, correcting differential gain or differential phase circuits for matrixing H04N9/67

Abstract

An image sensor including a plurality of pixels on which three types of filters which transmit light having different wavelengths and have transmittances equal to each other in a visible light region, and a clear filter in which a transmittance of the visible light region is expressed by a linear sum of the transmittances of the filters and which has a transmittance equal to the transmittances of the filters in a near-infrared light region are arranged, the image sensor outputs a first output signal, an output signal linear-transforming part transforms the first output signal into a second output signal having linearity, a color signal-generating part generates color signals, an infrared-separating part generates infrared-separated color signals, a luminance signal-generating part generates a luminance signal from the first output signal, and a color-luminance-combining part combines the infrared-separated color signals and the luminance signal and generates video signals.

Claims

1. An imaging device comprising:

an image sensor that includes a plurality of pixels on which a plurality of filters are respectively arranged in a predetermined manner, the image sensor outputting from each of the pixels a first output signal that is output in response to input luminance of incident light incident to the respective pixel and varies non-linearly in accordance with the luminance of the incident light incident to the respective pixel,

the plurality of filters that includes;

three types of filters that selectively transmit light of a visible light region different from each other and have spectral transmittances equal to each other in a near-infrared light region, and

one type of filter in which a spectral transmittance of a visible light region is expressed by a linear sum of the spectral transmittances of the three types of filters, the one type of filter having a spectral transmittance equal to one of the spectral transmittances of the three types of filters in the near-infrared light region;

an output signal linear-transforming part that transforms the non-linear first output signal outputted from each of the plurality of pixels to a linear second output signal for the respective one of the plurality of pixels, the second output signal corresponding to the first output signal predicted when assuming that the first output signal output by the image sensor varies linearly in accordance with the luminance of the incident light throughout a luminance range of the incident light;

a color signal-generating part that, from the second output signals, generates a plurality of color signals each corresponding to each type of the four types of filters and predicted to be outputted from each of the plurality of pixels when assuming that types of filters other than the type of filter actually arranged on the corresponding pixel among the four types of filters are arranged on each of the plurality of pixels;

an infrared-separating part that generates a plurality of infrared-separated color signals in which a near-infrared light component is separated and removed from the plurality of color signals;

a luminance signal-generating part that generates a luminance signal from the first output signal; and

a color-luminance-combining part that combines the plurality of the infrared-separated color signals and the luminance signal and generates video signals so that a color image is generated, in which even under a situation where contrast between light and shade is extremely large, an occurrence of blocked-up shadows and blown-out highlights is suppressed, and which has color reproducibility consistent with human color vision characteristics.

2. The imaging device according to claim 1, comprising:

a color saturation-detecting part that detects the color signals are saturated; and

a saturation-suppressing part that performs clipping processing in which values of the color signals detected to be saturated are transformed into predetermined values and outputs infrared non-separated color signals,

wherein when the color saturation-detecting part detects that the color signals are saturated, the color-luminance-combining part combines the infrared non-separated color signals and the luminance signal and generates the video signals, and

when the color saturation-detecting part does not detect that the color signals are saturated, the color-luminance-combining part combines infrared-separated color signals outputted from the infrared-separating part and the luminance signal and generates the video signals.

3. The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the infrared-separating part further calculates a near-infrared light component amount remaining after generating the infrared-separated color signals,

the saturation-suppressing part determines an output of the color saturation-detecting part or an occurrence of saturated pixel based on the near-infrared light component amount, and when a saturated pixel is detected, performs clipping processing in which a pixel value of the saturated pixel is transformed into a predetermined value, and outputs infrared non-separated color signals, and

the color-luminance-combining part combines the infrared non-separated color signals and the luminance signal and generates the video signals.

4. The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the color-luminance-combining part combines normalized signals in which the infrared-separated color signals are normalized by a luminance component calculated from the infrared-separated color signals, or normalized signals in which the infrared non-separated color signals are normalized by a luminance component calculated from the infrared non-separated color signals and the luminance signal by multiplying, and generates the video signals.

5. The imaging device according to claim 3, wherein the color-luminance-combining part combines normalized signals in which the infrared-separated color signals are normalized by a luminance component calculated from the infrared-separated color signals, or normalized signals in which the infrared non-separated color signals are normalized by a luminance component calculated from the infrared non-separated color signals and the luminance signal by multiplying, and generates the video signals.

6. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the one type of filter is a clear filter.

7. The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a luminance signal-correcting part,

wherein the luminance signal-correcting part performs contrast adjustment to the luminance signal and generates a luminance-corrected signal, and

wherein the color-luminance-combining part combines the luminance-corrected signal and the plurality of the infrared-separated color signals, and generates video signals.